HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The summer preceding September 11, 2001 is looked upon as a time of innocence for all Americans. It is here where the romantic drama Remember Me lives.
Honest and gripping, the film stars Robert Pattinson (Tyler) as a rebellious NYU student wrestling with his beliefs about life and love and the realities and complexities of life itself. This becomes evident in his contentious relationship with his father (Pierce Brosnan) and the unexpected comfort he finds in love interest, Emilie de Ravin, (Ally) a girl he meets through a crass bet he makes with a friend.
Pattinson brings to the role a tough exterior, a sincere emotional depth and a spirit of defiance that comes when a young man tries to move out from under his father’s shadow, while at the same time, trying to connect with him.
Soon after the film’s opening, it is revealed that both Pattinson’s and de Ravin’s characters have each experienced a profound loss, a loss which draws them together. As the story develops, we are given a window into their family lives through stellar turns from Brosnan, Lena Olin, Ruby Jerins and Chris Cooper. In each family, it is clear that loss has changed the dynamic— bringing some members closer, while driving others apart. Throughout it all, Remember Me remains an unforgettable story of the power of love, the strength of family, and the importance of treasuring every day of one’s life.
Describing the film and its author, director Allen Coulter says: “Will Fetters wrote an incredibly touching script. In its simplest form, Remember Me is the story of two young people, both with a tragedy in their past, and the love that grows between these two. He’s from a wealthy family, she’s from a blue-collar family and they both share this unspoken and unrecognized bond, which emerges as they get to know each other. It’s filled with all kinds of humor and poignancy—such a rich tapestry. It’s a very beautiful love story.”
“The movie is about love and loss,” offers producer Nick Osborne. “It’s about trying to figure out one’s life and why certain events occur and maybe not coming up with the answers, but approaching an answer.”
“I think these are questions we all deal with till the end of our days but especially in our early twenties.” Robert Pattinson describes his character, Tyler Hawkins, who, in the aftermath of losing his brother is “a young guy who’s a little bit lost. He has very wealthy parents, but he’s very self-righteous, and a bit of a waster. He has an attitude, which a lot of twenty-one year old guys have, where they think they know better than everyone else, but don’t feel the need to prove it in any way whatsoever. And he eventually meets this girl who shows him, in a roundabout kind of way, how to mature.”
“It’s not your typical love story,” says Emilie de Ravin (Ally Craig). “These two characters, Tyler and Ally, meet each other in unusual circumstances and they’ve both had very traumatic pasts. Their relationship is so beautifully formed and so realistic, and the movie revolves around that. It goes deep into how people really feel about each other, and the reality of, not just the fluff of relationships, but really what goes on.”
Watch: Remember Me Trailer
Watch: Remember Me Cast Interviews
Photo credit: Nicole Rivelli / Summit Entertainment
